Cottage Grove sentinel., August 03, 2016, Page pg 3, Image 28

The 2016 Summer Games at
Rio:
BY GEORGE DICKIE
bring your camera
In terms of natural beauty, there has probably never been an Olympic host city to equal Rio de Janeiro.
Indeed, when the 2016 Summer Olympics get going Friday, Aug. 5, on NBC, NBC Sports Network, Golf
Channel, CNBC, MSNBC, USA Network and NBCOlympics.com with 17 days of state-of-the-art competi-
tion, viewers will not only be treated to the heroics of Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt, Kerri Walsh-Jennings
and others, they’ll also get an up-close-and-personal look at perhaps the world’s most scenic major city.
Situated on Brazil’s Atlantic coast, Rio lies on the western shore of Guanabara Bay, rimmed by the
Serra do Mar mountains and the Brazilian Highlands. Probably the most famous of these is Corcovado, a
2,329-foot granite peak on which the Christo Redentor (aka Christ the Redeemer) statue overlooks the
harbor, arms outstretched. Constructed between 1922 and 1931 and standing 98-feet tall on the sum-
mit, it is easily the city’s most dei nitive feature.
Other sights include the monolithic Sugarloaf, a 1,299-foot sheer granite mountain at the mouth of
the bay; the 2,700-foot Pedra da Gavea, a magnet for hikers and adventurers; and the iconic beaches of
Ipanema, Copacabana and Abrico, where volleyball and football are the sports of choice, beer is openly
sold and consumed and clothing is optional. Yep, you’re not in Kansas anymore.
Of course, the city’s problems are well-documented: high crime and murder rates, poverty, polluted
waterways, a foundering economy, a government in the process of impeaching its president and the
ever-present threat of terrorism. And then, of course, there is the mosquito-borne Zika virus, which has
already scared away a number of athletes, Irish golfer Rory McIlroy among them, and more may yet drop
out. The timing for the city to host a major world event seemingly couldn’t be worse.
But with a security detail of about 85,000, more than twice that of London in 2012, and the fact that
Rio hosted the 2014 World Cup with no major issues, coni dence is high that these Games will go of
without a hitch. If everything goes according to plan, this could easily be among the most memorable, if
not the most photogenic, of Summer Games.
Sunrise over the favela of Vidigal
at Rio de Janeiro.
Of course, the city’s problems are well-documented: high crime and murder rates, poverty, polluted waterways,
a foundering economy, a government in the process of impeaching its president and the ever-present threat of
terrorism. And then, of course, there is the mosquito-borne Zika virus, which has already scared away a number of
athletes, Irish golfer Rory McIlroy among them, and more may yet drop out. The timing for the city to host a major
world event seemingly couldn’t be worse.
But with a security detail of about 85,000, more than twice that of London in 2012, and the fact that Rio hosted
the 2014 World Cup with no major issues, coni dence is high that these Games will go of without a hitch. If
everything goes according to plan, this could easily be among the most memorable, if not the most photogenic, of
Summer Games.
A dancer with
the Vila
Isabel
Samba
School
performs in the Sambadrome during the Rio
Carnival February 8, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil. Vila Isabel’s parade theme this year was
an ode to Brazil’s northern state of Pernam-
buco, one of the hardest hit by the Zika virus.
2016 SUMMER OLYMPICS VIEWER’S GUIDE pg 3